The overall objective of this 10-year Regional Queen Conch Fishery Management and Conservation Plan is to guide the implementation of a set of identified management measures that can be applied at the regional or sub-regional level for the sustainability of queen conch populations and for the maintenance of a healthy fishery and livelihood of the people involved in the fishery. The ecosystem approach forms the basis of this Regional Queen Conch Fishery Management and Conservation Plan, enhanci ng partnerships and collaboration throughout the Wider Caribbean region to improve the long-term governance of queen conch fisheries across the Caribbean. The Regional Queen Conch Fishery Management and Conservation Plan was formulated with the following specific objectives: 1. To improve the collection and integration of scientific data needed to determine the overall queen conch population status as the basis for the application of ecosystem-based management. 2. To harmonize measures aimed a t increasing the stability of the queen conch population and to implement best-management practices for a sustainable fishery. 3. To increase coordination and collaboration toward achieving better education and outreach, monitoring and research, co-management and strengthening, optimizing and harmonizing regional governance arrangements. 4. To adopt regional management measures, which incorporate the precautionary approach

The fifth meeting of the CFMC/OSPESCA/WECAFC/CRFM/CITES Working Group on Queen Conch (QCWG) was held in a hybrid format. The meeting was hosted in San Juan, Puerto Rico from 13 to 14 December 2021, but most attendees participated in the meeting remotely. The following members and regional partner organizations participated: Bahamas, Belize, Colombia, European Union, France (on behalf of Guadeloupe and Martinique), Honduras, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the United States of America, the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC), the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC), the Organization for the Fishing and Aquaculture Sector of the Central American Isthmus (OSPESCA). The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI), the Regional Committee of Marine Fisheries and Marine Aquaculture of Guadeloupe, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (Belize). Experts were also in attendance from the Scientific, Statistical and Technical Advisory Group of the Queen Conch Working Group (QCWG/SSTAG). Discussions focused on the progress made towards implementation of the Regional Queen Conch Fisheries Management and Conservation Plan and recommendations adopted at the 17th meeting of the Commission in 2019. Participants learned about collaborative work on Queen conch, especially at the regional level, and an overview of the intersessional activities undertaken.

This Caribbean Billfish Management and Conservation Plan was created to reverse the trend of declining stocks of billfish species within the Western Central Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas, and address unsustainable fishing practices. Its objective is to outline and guide the implementation of a suite of billfish management measures over a five-year period at regional and sub-regional scales to help secure the potential future benefits that can accrue from billfish stocks in the Caribbean. The overarching goal is to improve the management and conservation of billfish stocks. Among other objectives, the plan seeks to improve billfish catch, data collection and reporting; reduce bycatch, discards and overall fishing mortality; improve regional governance and coordination; and enhance the sustainable socio-economic performance of fisheries capturing billfishes in the area. The Members of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC), Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), Central America Organization for Fishery and Aquaculture (OSPESCA) and the Caribbean Fisheries Management Council (CFMC) developed this plan together during the period 2015-2018, through the Recreational Fisheries Working Group, and in close collaboration with all key stakeholders in the Consortium on Billfish Management and Conservation (CBMC). The plan recognizes the mandate of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) over billfish stocks, and supports the implementation of the ICCAT recommendations in the region.

The Fourth meeting of the CFMC/OSPESCA/WECAFC/CRFM/CITES Working Group on Queen Conch was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico from 16 to 17 December 2019. Discussions focused on strengthening national, regional and international efforts and uplifting responsibilities and commitments for the management and conservation and trade in queen conch and related or interacting species or fisheries in the Western Central Atlantic. Participants also considered how to strengthen the livelihoods of the people depending on these resources by following the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and in accordance with management goals agreed in the Regional Queen Conch Fisheries Management and Conservation Plan, which remains a matter of priority. La cuarta reunión del Grupo de trabajo conjunto CFMC/OSPESCA/COPACO/CRFM/CITES sobre el caracol rosado se celebró en San Juan, Puerto Rico, del 16 al 17 de diciembre de 2019. Las discusiones se centraron en el fortalecimiento de los esfuerzos nacionales, regionales e internacionales y la ampliación de las responsabilidades y compromisos para la ordenación, conservación y comercio del caracol rosado y las especies -o pesquerías- relacionadas -o con las que interactúa- en el Atlántico centro-occidental. Los participantes también estudiaron cómo fortalecer los medios de vida de quienes dependen de esos recursos, en consonancia con el Código de Conducta para la Pesca Responsable y los objetivos de ordenación acordados en el Plan regional para la ordenación y conservación del caracol rosado, que continúa siendo una cuestión prioritaria.

This review was developed as a project in response to the needs of the Intersessional Working Group of WECAFC in its task of identifying key options and priorities. The review describes a group of selected species that are considered to be important to Member States of the WECAFC. It classifies them into transboundary and straddling/highly migratory stocks and their fisheries and provides information on the state of exploitation of the selected species. The review also considers the ecological connectivity between the high seas and the EEZs of coastal nations. Lastly, it highlights issues that need to be addressed to generate a sound scientific knowledge base in support of the strategic reorientation of the Commission.